May 30, 2008

I am off to DC to attend Saturday’s meeting of the Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Committee. I will be an eyewitness to history as the committee decides whether delegates from Florida and Michigan should be seated at the national convention in Denver.

The next act in the long-running Clinton-Obama drama will unfold at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. This is not one of Marriott’s cookie-cutter properties. The hotel’s historic elegance and charm stand in the stark contrast to the unappetizing mess on the committee’s plate.

While there will be only 500 spectators inside the meeting room, thousands are expected on the outside the hotel. WomenCount, a political action committee that backs Hillary Clinton, has organized a “Count Our Vote ‘08” rally. Speakers at the daylong event will include:

We are very excited about the amount of support we are receiving from many prominent elected officials and organization leaders. These officials are as committed as we are to seeing that every vote cast in this election is counted fairly and proportionally. They realize how high the stakes are if, once again, millions of voters feel their votes have been disregarded.

The rally will be emceed by Jehmu Greene, former president of Rock the Vote, who added:

My entire adult life has been dedicated to registering and inspiring young people to get involved and vote. This is a logical continuation of that work. How can we even think of ignoring 2.4 million voters in an election this close? We must move away from the dangerous precedent of allowing small groups of people to determine the outcome of elections.

May 29, 2008

Back in the day, the Gap Band had a big hit with “You Dropped a Bomb on Me.” The group is from Tulsa, Okla., where in 1921 white vigilantes looted and burned America’s most prosperous black community. More than 300 people were killed, 1,200 homes and businesses destroyed, and 10,000 citizens displaced.

As my friend Harvard Law Prof. Charles A. Ogletree Jr. likes to tell audiences, the band’s name memorializes the site of the race riot. Gap is short for Greenwood Avenue, and Archer and Pine streets that were the heart of the Greenwood business district known as the “Black Wall Street.”

Ogletree is the lead counsel in a lawsuit to get reparations for the survivors, who include Otis Clark, 105, Dr. Olivia Hooker, 93, Wesley Young, 91, and Dr. John Hope Franklin. Dr. Franklin’s father’s law office was burned down by the white mob.

The time for justice is long overdue. To commemorate the 87th anniversary of one of the worst acts of domestic terrorism in U.S. history, there will be a series of events in Tulsa this weekend.

The events will include the premiere of “Before They Die,” the story of the survivors’ four-year search for justice through the federal court system. Reggie Turner, the film’s director and producer, said:

The victims of 9/11, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the Japanese-Americans from the World War II internment camps have all been compensated. The survivors of the Tulsa Race Riot are still waiting, hoping that they will see justice and compensation before they die.

The film is the cornerstone of an effort to generate knowledge of this hidden historical event, and to stimulate Americans to contribute online to provide compensation directly to the victims. The non-profit, Tulsa Project Fund Inc. has been established specifically for that purpose. Our goal is to accomplish what the legal and legislative branches of our government have failed to do. To right this wrong, to no longer simply look backward: To Step Forward from our history, by embracing our present responsibility to make life better for these victims while we have to opportunity to do so.

There will also be a march and town hall meeting featuring the survivors, religious and civic leaders from across the country, and members of the legal team.

Not so in San Francisco, where 4,000 same-sex marriages were performed at City Hall in 2004. The court stepped in and voided the “marriages.”

Also in 2004, a same-sex marriage initiative on the Ohio ballot was credited with peeling away black voters. In the run-up to the general election, a Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies poll found that 46 percent of African Americans opposed any legal recognition of gay relationships. Indeed, blacks are more conservative about homosexual relationships than the general population.

The Joint Center poll showed President Bush’s approval ratings among African Americans were 30 percent favorable to 67 percent unfavorable. Still, Bush received 16 percent of the black vote in Ohio, up from nine percent in 2000.

Since President Reagan’s reelection campaign, Republicans have used the metaphor “San Francisco Democrats” as code for a party that is out of touch with the values of small town Americans (read: Reagan Democrats).

According to a new Field Poll, a majority of Californians now support legalizing gay marriages. Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo cautioned the support may drop if a proposed initiative qualifies for the ballot. Well, the California Marriage Protection Act will be on the ballot.

May 27, 2008

It’s been nearly five months since the Iowa caucuses. At long last, we are down to the final three contests. Puerto Rico votes on Sunday. When the polls close in Montana and South Dakota a week from today, it will all be over. The voting that is. There is seemingly no end to the Clinton-Obama drama.

In an op-ed in the New York Daily News, Hillary Clinton addressed the latest kerfuffle:

I want to set the record straight: I was making the simple point that given our history, the length of this year's primary contest is nothing unusual. Both the executive editor of the newspaper where I made the remarks, and Sen. Kennedy's son, Bobby Kennedy Jr., put out statements confirming that this was the clear meaning of my remarks. Bobby stated, "I understand how highly charged the atmosphere is, but I think it is a mistake for people to take offense."

As to why she’s still running, Clinton says the race isn’t over:

I am not unaware of the challenges or the odds of my securing the nomination - but this race remains extraordinarily close, and hundreds of thousands of people in upcoming primaries are still waiting to vote. As I have said so many times over the course of this primary, if Sen. Obama wins the nomination, I will support him and work my heart out for him against John McCain. But that has not happened yet.

And to the haters naysayers:

I believe I won a 40-point victory two weeks ago in West Virginia and a 35-point victory in Kentucky this past week - despite voters being repeatedly told this race is over - because I'm standing up for them. I'm standing up for the deepest principles of our party and for an America that values the middle class and rewards hard work.

Finally, I am running because I believe I'm the strongest candidate to stand toe-to-toe with Sen. McCain. Delegate math might be complicated - but electoral math is not. Our campaign is winning the popular vote - and we've been winning the swing states we need to get 270 electoral votes and take back the White House: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arkansas, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Michigan, Florida and West Virginia.

Clinton hopes the Puerto Rico primary, which she is expected to win, will improve her fuzzy popular vote math.

May 23, 2008

I missed the drama of Election Night 2000. After NBC called Florida for Al Gore shortly before 8 p.m., I turned off the TV and zonked out. So you can imagine my surprise when I woke up and discovered that the election was too close to call.

I hoped to atone by researching, writing and producing a film about the recount debacle. The documentary, “Counting on Democracy,” aired on PBS stations nationwide. I’ve also screened it at countless colleges and community organizations.

In a primary season full of twists and turns, we’ve come full circle. In voting-challenged Broward County, they’re chanting “count every vote” like it’s 2000. And the head cheerleader is Hillary Clinton:

I believe the Democratic Party must count these votes. They should count them exactly as they were cast. Democracy demands no less. …

We believe the popular vote is the truest expression of your will. We believe it today, just as we believed it back in 2000 when right here in Florida, you learned the hard way what happens when your votes aren't counted and the candidate with fewer votes is declared the winner. The lesson of 2000 here in Florida is crystal clear. If any votes aren't counted, the will of the people is not realized and our democracy is diminished. That is what I have always believed.

Geller told Lou Dobbs he sent the Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Committee a letter asking them to seat Florida’s delegation. But he never got a response. Geller said:

I’m hoping that they’re going to read the lawsuit and say, oh my God, I can't believe they’re going to win this so we better on May 31st moot the lawsuit and seat their full delegation.

Geller claims the decision to strip Florida of its delegates violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment since the DNC granted waivers to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He also alleges the DNC violated the due process clause by failing to investigate the decision by the Republican-controlled legislature to move up the primary date.

Geller added:

If not, if they don’t do it voluntarily, I expect a federal judge will tell them to seat our full delegation.

He then threw down the gauntlet:

Well, all I'm saying is count our votes. I happen to agree with Senator Clinton to count their votes but I'm not supporting Senator Clinton or Senator Obama. I want our votes counted. But I'll tell you, if they don't count our votes, they won't get our votes in November.

Next weekend I’ll be in DC to attend the hearing on Florida and Michigan. Eight years later, there’s still no sunshine in the Sunshine State.

May 22, 2008

Last week, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean announced the state blogs credentialed to cover the national convention. In a press release, Democratic National Convention Committee CEO Leah Daughtry trumpeted:

The members of the DemConvention State Blogger Corps represent a broad spectrum of voices that illustrate the "big tent" nature of our Party. Many of these blogs are vibrant communities, well respected in their home states and committed to ensuring that all voices can be heard in the political process. I'm excited about the roles these bloggers will have in engaging an even broader, more diverse base of people from around the country in conversations not only about the Convention, but about the future of our nation.

Black bloggers do not share Daughtry’s excitement. They are outraged over the lack of diversity. BTW, Daughtry is the daughter of the Rev. Herbert Daughtry of House of the Lord Church in Brooklyn. A longtime community leader, Rev. Daughtry was arrested during the recent pray-in for justice for Sean Bell.

Francis L. Holland of the Afrospear is leading the charge. Disclosure: I’m a member of the Afrospear but I don’t have a dog in this fight for two reasons.

First, I’m not a state blogger so I didn’t apply. Second, I expect to be credentialed through the DNCC Press Gallery as a member of the Black Voices political team.

I'm concerned that virtually all of the state blogs selected by the Democratic National Committee to cover Denver are white. Of course, it remains possible that one of these white blogs will bring a Black person along as a blogger. But, Black bloggers and voters are not willing to wait until we arrive in Denver to find out whether a group of virtually all-white blogs will also send a group of all-white bloggers to Denver. We strongly suspect that we already know the answer, and it is totally unacceptable to us. Do any of these all-white blogs even have any Black bloggers who might participate? That's something we need to know before Denver.

May 21, 2008

The hills Appalachian Mountains are alive with the sound of music. And it’s not bluegrass. Instead, it’s MC Hammer's "Too Legit to Quit."

Hillary Clinton won Kentucky with 65 percent of the vote to Barack Obama’s 30 percent. And now Clinton can't quit when “hearing the sound of your overwhelming vote of confidence even in the face of tough odds”:

Some have said your votes didn't matter, that this campaign was over, that allowing everyone to vote and every vote to count would somehow be a mistake. But that didn't stop you. You’ve never given up on me because you know I’ll never give up on you.

This is one of the closest races for a party's nomination in modern history. We’re winning the popular vote and I’m more determined than ever to see that every vote is cast and every ballot counted.

Clinton added:

And I’m going on now to campaign in Montana, South Dakota, and Puerto Rico. And I’m going to keep standing up for the voters of Florida and Michigan. Democrats in those two states cast 2.3 million votes and they deserve to have those votes counted. That's why I’m going to keep making our case until we have a nominee, whoever she may be.